We are at an interesting point in time where going against the tide in life is excepted by many. Or at least I had thought so until the last couple of months.
People are expected to be different in the same way everyone else is different. For example, everyone must go to college, but you can pick your own major; therefore, you’re different. The problem is that you’re not. There’s no problem with this other than the fact that people are massively scared to be too different than anyone else. And not everyone needs to be different. We certainly aren’t born that way.
People love to be safe, secure, and complacent. But if we were to heed the actions of those who have done anything new or interesting, we could summarize their actions with words like that of Ray Bradbury: “If they give you lined paper, write the other way.”
Instead of just going with a different major than everyone else, think about whether or not your field really requires a degree. Or re-think how human & consumer behavior actually works to better serve your business. Challenge your thoughts on science and technology. Second guess the cause of wealth creation, education, work, philosophy, etc. These are just a few ways you can truly be different and potentially make a difference.
We forget that only a couple hundred years ago, Copernicus was called crazy for claiming that the earth revolved around the sun. One hundred years ago, the Wright Brothers were thought to have let their imaginations run away with them concerning flight. The earth was considered to be flat not too long ago as well. Imagine today’s small and large idea’s of which we might have completely wrong theories on. Someone will come along and simply prove these fallacies wrong.
Breaking the rules is a skill. Don’t follow everyone else’s footsteps just because. Education is often the best example of this. We get told in school what and how to think. Everyone gets shuffled into this cookie cutter mix of people doing and thinking the same ways for the same reasons.
I love questioning things and people daily. It puts things in a different perspective.
You also may have had someone tell you that you HAVE to do XYZ thing. People will say you have to do a task they want at work, school, or a sport just because. Most people just believe it and then take it when, in reality, they have options.
Most individuals think their options look like this:
- Shut-up, agree, and do what others say.
In reality, their options look like this:
- Try their idea. Switch/re-think if their way is extraneous, and a new idea gets to the same result.
- Question the task to begin with to see if it is necessary. Then look for the best way to complete the task.
- Do not do what they say.
- Respectfully disagree.
- Outsource the task.
- Do what they suggest.
Obviously some of these might not be the wisest, but you do have options. Even if the option is something along the lines of “I must do this if I want to have the highest likelihood of keeping my job, getting a promotion, not getting kicked out of school, etc.” then you still have that choice. When people feel like they only have one option, they feel trapped. Feeling trapped can be a horrible & dangerous feeling for someone to have if it is pressed, which is where this mindset can help.
So many things may be fixed if we think against the grain, against tradition, or in terms of “breaking the rules.” With this being said, not everything is wrong or can be fixed with a contrarian mindset.
Just as it would be foolish to believe everything should stay the same traditional way, it would be foolish to believe that everything is wrong and should be changed.